3. The Shadow of Shibuya

Through the afternoon, Haruka and Kazuki asked around the street and establishments about the strange sightings. At dusk, they were reviewing their results.
- "So operator-san" - said Haruka, touching her NCID. - "what is the summary of our reports?"
- "Well, as usual nothing too concrete, but let's go!" - the operator was always cheerful - "so, there is a mysterious being which shows up every night scouring the skies of Shibuya. From the described noises, shadows and the markings we saw, it uses the buildings as support to move through the sky. It attacks people, and has possibly killed two, who are missing." - the operator sighed - "well, no doubt it is one of the deviants."
- "That makes it quite simple actually." - Kazuki replied - "Raikubo-san and I simply need to wait around here and attack when the monster inevitably comes out."
- "And even though a high place would be good, it is better to stay on the ground as we won't be able to fight on the air." - said Haruka. The operator replied:
- "Well, I wouldn't have said it better. I will send a drone to try to find the creature from above and help you."
- "Thank you, operator-san!"
- "Operator leaving it to Haruka-chan and Kazuki-kun, over and out!" - with the NCID turned off, Kazuki said:
- "Raikubo-san, let's sit down and wait a bit."
- "Sure" - she replied and they both sat on a bench.

The two sat side by side in silence, watching the Shibuya crossing with attention. The dusk's sun gave a orange shade to the people walking fast and the cars driving by. Ads filled the buildings around them with messages like "keep up the good work for the country!", "buy bonds to strengthen the reconstruction!" and "Buy Générique Soda, the fizziest of Nouveau Nippon.". While some people rushed and others were distracted by the ads, the two agents kept an attentive eye on everything, specially on the windows, rooftops and the sky.

As the darkest moment of dusk fell and only the gleaming of the traffic lights, neon posts and ads remained, a shadow loomed over the crossing. On the side of a building hanged a seemingly humanoid figure. The shadow again loomed over the crossing and then hang on another building. Haruka and Kazuki got ready but remained sitting down. When the lights turned red close to their bench, some people ran and others waited, causing a single man to be waiting on the street corner. He sighed and looked down, not noticing the shadow that loomed over him.

In an instant, Kazuki rushed and pushed the man to the ground. At the same time, they were deafened by a loud screech. Haruka saw the humanoid figure on the ground as it landed, damaging the walkway. As it got up, Haruka could see it actually had feathers all over its body. Its arms and legs featured eagle's claws and it's face was also an eagle's. Haruka grabbed her pistol and shot, but the creature extended its arms launching itself toward a building's side.

- "Are you alright?" - Kazuki asked the man he saved as he got up.
- "Yes, I guess, thank you." - he replied.
- "Please leave, things will get nasty."
- "No need to say it" - at the first chance the man ran across the street. Haruka and Kazuki were ready to fight, but the creature disappeared.
- "Op-san, we lost the deviant" - said Haruka - "can you see it?"
- "Actually, the drone just arrived and I am following the deviant. It is fleeing towards the north, go after it!"
- "We will" - Haruka and Kazuki started to run.
- "And, let's call it BirdHook."
- "Alright, I can stand by this name."
- "Great! BirdHook is still moving, please keep up the pace." - Haruka and Kazuki advanced - "now, it stopped on a building. Walk one more block and wait."
- "It is probably looking for other prey, let's go!" - Kazuki said, rallying his partner.

They arrived on a smaller crossing, and sat on a bench, where they could see the monster. It sometimes moved from building to building, but did not make an attack. Kazuki said:
- "I have a plan, be prepared to shoot and let's wait for someone to be alone."
- "You mean you will use someone as bait, Kaa-chan?" - Haruka replied.
- "Yes, but they will be safe, trust me."
- "Yes, I know" - she replied blinking. They waited for a few minutes until, yet again, a man was alone, close to their bench. As Kazuki had predicted, the shadow loomed over the person. BirdHook jumped, but again Kazuki pushed the man aside, and again the creature struck the street. This time, however, Kazuki had also thrown a trap on the ground, which BirdHook tripped, getting electrocuted. Haruka was already pointing and shot the creature twice on the chest. It cried in pain.

Of course, these were rubber bullets and BirdHook was already preparing its escape, when Kazuki shot a cold beam on one of its arms and then on the other. Both were partially frozen. BirdHook, now cornered, cried and advanced towards Haruka throwing kicks at her. Swiftly she avoided each hit of his flurry and kept going backwards, trying to keep a distance. Kazuki approached and punched its back, making the creature turn away to attack him. When Haruka prepared an electrical attack to stun the beast, however, they heard a strange sound.

In an instant a net came flying and struck BirdHook, trapping it. At the same time, Haruka and Kazuki heard gun shots and rushed for cover. The gun shots were aimed towards them.
- "What's that?! Any readings?!" - shouted Kazuki.
- "No, I am trying to use the drone to find the shooters" - said the operator - "the shots are coming a building on the east, but I cannot see them yet."
- "Raikubo-san! Cover me!" - Kazuki said. With that, Haruka started shooting towards them. This gave time for Kazuki to get up, take a look and find the floor from where they were shooting. Then, he shot a tear gas cannister on the floor with his riffle. The shots stopped. Before they could talk however, BirdHook cut the net with its legs and got up. Its arms seemed better and it pointed towards the building. As it extend its arm, and started moving, Kazuki heard a shot. He looked on his right and saw a most serious Haruka. She had just fired an electrical bullet on BirdHook's nape. Electrocuted, the deviant fell instantly. Kazuki approached to use his ice and then Haruka used her ring to conjure a magical net and capture the deviant.

Panting, they both looked around and saw no more movement. Kazuki said:
- "Operator, any signs of the shooters?"
- "Not at all" - she replied - "it is possible they fled with the smoke. I couldn't catch a glimpse of them."
- "Well, regardless, we are done here, please call the cleaning team."
- "Sure, I will also ask for police officers to search the building and get evidence of the shooters."
- "Thanks a lot, operator-san."
- "You are welcome, Haruka-chan and Kazuki-kun!" - after their reply, Kazuki turned towards Haruka and said:
- "Amazing marksmanship, what a shot!"
- "Thank you, I am that amazing, you know!" - she smiled as if nothing serious had just happened.
- "Hey don't get cocky! It was precise and BirdHook wouldn't have been caught without it, but don't get too confident! Or else" - he had a smug smile - "I will stop complimenting you."
- "No, you meanie!" - she pouted. He laughed and they waited for the cleaning team to arrive. Then, they returned to his motorcycle and rode back home.

Shortly, they arrived back on their condominium. Haruka removed her helmet, shook her head revealing her flowing pink hair and stared at Kazuki until he also removed his helmet and looked at her. Then, she said:
- "So, Kaa-chan, it is still early. How about we have dinner together? I saw one ad today about a Brazilian barbecue quite close to here." - Kazuki took a minute before saying:
- "Well" - he put his hand on his head - "I am not so sure. It is all fake food isn't it? Expensive fake food for that matter."
- "Yes I guess" - Haruka looked down.
- "I think I prefer to just stay at home and eat my rations. Cheaper and its terrible texture is authentic in a way." - Haruka looked around before gazing at him again:
- "And wouldn't you like to have dinner to spend some time together?"
- "Well, we already spend lots of time together, we don't need a pseudo fancy dinner for that."
- "Hm, okay I guess" - she couldn't hide her disappointment - "well, see you tomorrow then."
- "See you tomorrow, Raikubo-san" - he did not notice it.